Man Who Refused to Make $120 Steak 'Well Done' for Woman Divides Internet

A man has divided opinion after detailing how he ended up falling out with a "long-time friend" after their girlfriend asked for an expensive Wagyu steak to be "well done."

The controversial meat connoisseur took to Reddit's infamous "Am I The A**hole" subreddit to break down how he ended up having his phone number and social media accounts blocked by both his friend and their partner following the disagreement. At the time of writing, the post had generated over 9,000 upvotes and more than 5,000 comments.

According to the post, the drama unfolded over an "extravagant" Thanksgiving meal involving a "tight-knit" group of 10 friends, made up mostly of couples, which included his former friend and his new girlfriend, who he had started dating a couple of months ago.

The man said this year's celebration was particularly special because he had "lucked into a strip loin of A5 Wagyu for a price that was unorthodox levels of cheap" thanks to a friend who works for a "high-end meat distributor."

To the uninitiated: Wagyu beef represents something akin to the Rolls Royce of steaks; a Japanese bred beef made notable thanks to its copious marbling, which gives the meat a unique and irresistible tenderness.

According to Tokyo Spark, A5 Wagyu can set you back around $250 per pound on average, with an unprepared A5 Wagyu steak priced at approximately $118 on average.

Entrusted with cooking the meat for their Thanksgiving get-together, the man described how he pulled out all the stops to ensure his friends enjoyed the Wagyu beef as best they possibly could.

"Steak is about the closest thing I have to a religion and I take it very seriously," he explained. "The average steak for me takes about 4-5 hours to prepare and cook...though sometimes I take as much as 3-4 months butter aging or dry aging my meats to be certain that they are perfect."

In this instance, the steak fan employed a cooking method called "sous vide," with each of the steaks placed in food and temperature-safe resealable plastic bags before being submerged in a pot of heated water to cook. No oil is used while the temperature is carefully controlled throughout.

"These were genuine A5 so I only sous vide them after cutting them into two inch steaks," he wrote. "I sous vide them to medium-rare to be sure the fat was well-rendered but informed them that if absolutely necessary, I'd bring them up to medium on request."

But while the careful cooking process went off without a hitch, problems arose when the group all sat down to eat.

According to the man, his friend's new girlfriend was "mortified" after seeing the pink inside one of the other diner's steaks and claimed that steaks should be "brown all the way through or else you'll get sick."

When he tried to explain that these particular steaks had been "cooked at the ideal temperature for the cut" she demanded he "cook hers till it was brown all the way through."

He said he told her firmly there was "not a chance" of him doing that, at which point she got angry and began shouting that it was "her steak and she should have it how she liked."

The man noted that her anger came despite there being a "plethora" of other meats and side dishes to choose from as part of the meal including jerk chicken, mandarin duck breast, and cherry jalapeno salmon. More importantly, the menu had been set weeks in advance.

At this point, she branded him a "f***ing asshole" and attempted to go and put the steak in a nearby microwave. However, he intercepted her, grabbing the plate out of her hand, at which point the steak fell on the floor and was eaten by a dog.

The man said he then quipped: "Well, at least it went to someone who wouldn't shit on a good steak." However, there was "definitely tension" for the rest of the meal and the friend and girlfriend left soon after the incident.

Since then, not only have they both blocked the meat enthusiast from contacting them, the man also received a PayPal invoice for $25 from his old friend demanding that he "pay for the dry cleaning of her dress."

The chef's experience proved divisive, to say the least.

One Reddit user, posting as Nut-me-shell, was not impressed with his actions, writing: "Eating with pretentious people is exhausting." Sa5_i_am agreed, writing: "The point of cooking for other people is that you're cooking for other people. You're an a**hole if you want people to eat things they're uncomfortable with or if you demand they eat it prepared in a certain way."

Ximxperfection concurred: "I don't think asking for your steak to be prepared how you're comfortable with is rude. She was flat wrong on it being unsafe, but if she wanted to ruin her steak by microwaving it, so be it. He's not eating it, so why does he care?"

However, plenty of others sided with the disgruntled steak enthusiast. Iwantsurprises said: "Showing up as a guest and insulting the food, claiming it's unsafe when it isn't, and then demanding the host prepare your portion differently just for you, is unacceptable behavior."

Different-peak-8821 noted that it is "practically impossible to get A5 grade steak for anything less then a cheap fortune." "No chef is going to want to cook A5 steak well done; it's quite literally ruining the meat," they added.

Atomic-Communist, meanwhile, came up with a great comparison. "Replace the steak with scotch. If you are offering a 20 year old scotch and someone asks to mix it with soda I would offer them a different scotch," they wrote. "Just because I'm not a bartender or sommelier doesn't mean I have to smile and nod politely as someone wastes a luxury like that."

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment.

This isn't the first time a Thanksgiving meal has been the source of contention on social media. One man described how he ended up leaving his fiancee at home and spending Thanksgiving with his family, alone, after she tried to bring her own meal. Elsewhere, a woman earned praise after refusing to clean up following the family Thanksgiving meal while the men in her family watch football.